


Sleeping with Ghosts

by Dominam_Mortis



Series: The Redemption of Billy Hargrove [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: BAMF Billy Hargrove, BAMF Steve Harrington, Canonical Character Death, Fix-It, Gen, I wanted Billy back so this is what I wrote, Later it will, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, POV Steve Harrington, Pre-Relationship, Redemption, Self-Indulgent, Slow Burn, Steve's turn to save the world, The Russians (Stranger Things), billy's redemption
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-25 22:00:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19754608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dominam_Mortis/pseuds/Dominam_Mortis
Summary: (Title and summary may change)Set after the season 3 finale.Life goes on for everyone else but Steve can't take his mind off what they lost and the sacrifices that were made. Along the way he realises that death may not be the end for a certain douchebag teenager.





	Sleeping with Ghosts

**Author's Note:**

> Title currently based off the song by Placebo, I was listening to it when I came up with this idea so I thought it was fitting.  
> .  
> This is unbeta'd so there may be mistakes so please point them out if you spot them.  
> I'm probably going to jump straight into the plot because I hate fluff, also there's already been a time skip at the end of episode 8 so I don't need to postpone this much longer. Also this is likely pre Harringrove getting together so if I make a sequel to this then they'll properly get together then, at the moment this is the build up to them getting together.
> 
> This is all based off my own weird theories and also probably not canon compliant desperation because I actually began to like Billy and I think there was a lot of things they could have done with his character had he not died. Also if Dacre doesn't get an award for this season I'm going to fight someone.  
> Anyway, let's get started...

After 3 months he thought he'd be over the trauma of the battle at starcourt.

But Steve wasn't. He barely could sleep through a night without waking up from nightmares, haunted by the giant flesh creature. Every nightmare started different but it always ended with the Mind Flayer, silhouetted by neon fireworks, towering over him with rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth. It shrieked in pain before launching at him with its hideous mouth, before it could devour him he jolted awake, trembling in terror. It had been 3 months and he still dreamt of it over and over again. He'd not once managed a full night of sleep since then.

Life seemed to keep barreling on forwards, but he was still stuck in that mall, throwing fireworks at a monster made up of the residents of Hawkins mangled flesh and bones. Every time Steve thought of that hideous creature he had to fight the urge to throw up his lunch again, thinking of the devastated families who will never get to bury their loved ones because the only thing remaining of them is a giant pile of liquefied muscle and broken bones. He simultaneously is grateful he knows the truth and not, because he has to watch daily as people enter the family video store, a haunted look in their eyes as they browse the aisles, avoiding the horror section like the plague. He hates it because he knows why their missing child, sibling or parent will never return home. He knows why every street has homes for sale, why people seem to be vacating the town and no one is moving in. It's all over the news, all over the papers, it's even painted onto the road signs, calling Hawkins hell. 

Steve had known it would happen, it was only a matter of time after he fought that first demogorgon, he knew that eventually people would cotton on to the fact something was wrong in Hawkins. The town was cursed, ever since that shady lab had started its operations on the edge of town. Ever since they had started experimenting on children and they started investigating things that would have been best left alone. But they were too power hungry, too curious for their own good and now the town was paying the price. The Hawkins Post had for weeks been filled with missing persons posters, adverts desperately searching for their lost loves ones. A few weeks later it would became just obituaries. 

On the bright side, not that there was much of one, Nancy had a new job. As one of the few survivors of Hawkins Post she had been reinstated as a reporter. That had helped her keep busy, distracting her from the fact Jonathan had moved. 

It hadn't been as easy on the kids though. Steve helped drive them to school now that the eldest Byers son was no longer around and Nancy was preoccupied with her new job. He saw it on their faces every morning. Mike was mourning the loss of both his girlfriend and best friend, Lucas was missing his friend whilst also having to care for Max who was still grieving her brother. Dustin seemed to have gotten off the lightest, but he was still just as sad as the rest of them. 

Steve felt sorry for all of them, no one that young should have to go through what they had in the last few years. Yet he also admired their determination, he could see that despite this they were all trying their hardest at school, even when the grief threatened to consume them. They were some seriously tough kids, that's for sure. However, he still worried about them, especially Max. He couldn't imagine losing a sibling, even if they were a complete dick most of the time. 

The worst part was unlike the other citizens of Hawkins who had lost siblings, Max had witnessed it firsthand, she'd watched as her brother had been killed by the monster, she'd been right there when he took his last breath. Steve hadn't known exactly what he could do to help, but he had soon realised that he didn't need to, even though they missed their friends, the remaining trio of boys had soon looked past their owns issues and started helping take care of Max. 

They all seemed to take turns inviting Max round to their houses, at first they had tried to go round Max's but judging by their terrified expressions after bumping into her step-dad he guessed that was a bad idea. Now they barely left her alone, it sounded a little bad, but he could see in Max's expression that she was grateful not to be left alone with her grief.

Surprisingly enough Steve found himself grieving for Billy too, even though the guy had been a complete ass he knew that somewhere deep down he'd cared for Max, certainly enough to give his life to save her and her best friend. He knew that Max missed him desperately, even though they'd fought and shouted at each other they were still brother and sister at the end of the day. So he found himself grieving for Max, for her douchebag of a brother that despite all odds and certainly out of character had saved El's life. 

He'd never admit it but he'd been impressed, that Billy, the guy who'd beaten the crap out of him had managed to take back control of his body from the Mind Flayer and had fought the thing with his bare hands to save a girl he'd only just met. It made his fight with the Demorgorgon looked like child's play.

Steve had found himself often thinking of what could have been if the other boy hadn't died. Billy had died a hero, but what if he'd lived? Because no doubt the Mind Flayer would be back again, it never seemed to stay down and he knew that when it happened, the team of kids a handful of adults who knew the truth would be fighting for their lives again and they would need every bit of help they could get. They'd need someone like Billy, someone who would fight tooth and nail to win. But instead their numbers were dwindling, with Hopper gone and the Byer family escaping whilst they could, Eleven included, they were left with 3 young teenagers and 3 verging on adulthood. Well, there was also Owens and Murray Bauman but neither were entirely reliable.

With these thoughts in mind Steve often found himself browsing the local weapons stores when he wasn't at work. He knew to the owner of the shop, a barely out of high school teen looking at guns and ammo probably looked suspicious, but he knew that with Hopper gone someone would have to step up to the mark of the leader of their ragtag crew. Although Robin often voiced her doubt about his suitability he knew that behind the sarcasm and repeated uses of 'dingus' she also believed that he was right because even though she'd only been involved in the last fight, she had learned about the tenaciousness of the Mind Flayer. It never stayed gone for too long and it would be back.

Despite that Steve found himself hesitant in actually purchasing any real firepower, sure he'd used some of his father's money to buy a pistol and a shotgun but at the end of the day he still found himself tucking his bat under the edge of his bed, ready for if a flower faced creature burst through the door. Although, 3 months on the only thing that woke him was dreams of shadowy monsters.

* * *

After one night of particularly vivid visions of the Mind Flayer, Steve woke at 4 am, exhausted but knowing he wouldn't sleep again with visions of rows and rows of teeth behind his eyelids he ripped back his douvet and got out of bed. He dressed in clean jeans and a shirt before grabbing his bat and tiredly trooping down the stairs. Once he'd reached the lower floor of his house he switched on all the lights, making sure there were no more dark corners where the creatures from his nightmares could lurk. 

Afterwards he shuffled into the kitchen, switching on the coffee machine yet again he rifled through the fridge for some milk for the remaining cereal that he had left. He grabbed the last clean bowl from the cupboard and poured the last of the cereal in before splashing milk liberally over it. He returned the milk to the fridge and rinsed off a spoon before digging into his breakfast hungrily. 

As he devoured his early morning meal he glanced over at the boombox that sat on the counter, cassette tapes all packed neatly into the box next to it. With a considering hum he examined the tapes before grabbing one that had The Clash - Combat Rock printed on the label. He placed it into the player and clicked down play, although not before lowering the volume to something acceptable for 4am. 

Whilst the start of Know Your Rights begun to play through the kitchen he slid his empty bowl into the nearly overflowing sink before pouring himself a steaming cup of coffee. Steve leaned against the counter, foot tapping along to the beat whilst he waited for his coffee to cool, his mind wandering. He wasn't necessarily listening to the music, it was just background noise to disguise the suffocating silence that filled his empty house. 

Soon his mind strayed to his work, mulling over the fact he had to yet again go to the store today and spend hours waiting for people to come in and inevitably ask his opinion on movies. That was not one of Steve's best attributes, most films he watched were definitely not something the general public were interested in, so he found himself often referring them to Robin, who would inevitably glare at him before providing a brilliant suggestion that the customers 9 times out of 10 would end up renting because she was way better at reading people than him. 

However, Steve had started trying, he got Robin to start teaching him what popular films were in the store and what ones he should recommend to different types of people such as the best dramas and romance films for the girls, the best sci-fi for the nerds, the best action films for the jock types and so on. It had been hard at first but now he was pretty confident and had secretly been watching some of them on the side, so he could actually understand better what the hell he was talking about.

Before his thoughts could stray to the latest drama the kids had been yelling about yesterday after he was pulled from his thoughts by the music. The beginnings of Should I Stay or Should I Go had just begun playing through the speakers when all of a sudden it was distorted, the backing music was playing in a different pitch and static started playing over the top of the lyrics. He frowned, turning to the boombox, he placed his mug down. As he stepped forward the volume suddenly increased and the static started to worsen which made no sense, there shouldn't be static. Steve frowned further as the lyrics cut out and a distorted, distant voice could be heard through the speakers but the words were too quiet and interrupted by bursts of noise. As he approached the player it suddenly let out a whining noise before stopping as suddenly as it had started and the music started to play through normally.

"What the-?" Steve stared at it, waiting for anything else but nothing happened. Shaking his head he turned back to his coffee, taking a large sip of the still hot liquid in hopes that the caffeine would help. He was exhausted, he had probably just imagined things, no way had that happened. With a sigh he stepped away from the kitchen counter and instead ventured into the living room, picking up the paper from the coffee table. 

Before everything that had happened at Starcourt Mall he hadn't bothered reading the newspaper, he'd just found it boring and repetitive. Hawkins was a small town so there wasn't really much newsworthy stories, or at least it had seemed that way, likely because the people running it had all been boring old men with no true interest in searching out interesting stories or investigating anything out of the ordinary. 

Now, however, he found himself reading it every other day, Nancy's way of writing was far more interesting than anything before and she often went out of her way to find stories that were worth writing about. Stories that people wouldn't ordinarily bother listening to but when she investigated them were fascinating. Steve felt a swell of pride every time he read the story and saw her name by the headline. Even though she'd broken his heart he still cared about her, he didn't believe it was love anymore, or at least not romantically anyway, more like the sister he never had and he was happy that she'd finally found her calling.

With hours to go before he needed to leave to pick up the kids he dropped down onto his couch, sinking into the soft cushions, mug in one hand and newspaper in the other, music playing in the background and began to read.

* * *

Just over 3 hours later Steve emerged from his house. Spinning the keys round in his hand he walked up to his BMW and unlocked it before slipping inside. Starting up he unthinkingly flipped on the radio, straight away music blared from the speakers and he bobbed his head to the familiar beat. As he drove towards Dustin's house the radio started to go on the fritz. The music faded out and static hissed over the speakers, a voice seemed to be trying to get through. Steve tried to listen to what it was saying but it wasn't clear. Sighing, he dismissed it as just the radio being faulty and instead turned it off. Soon after he retrieved Dustin and then headed round town to pick up the other shitheads and ferry them to school. 

Dustin chattered constantly the whole way, excitedly explaining about how he'd been on the radio to Suzie all night. Steve rolled his eyes at the kid's enthusiasm about the girl. "Careful kid, she'll break your heart"

"She's not like that Steve. Once we finish High School we'll probably apply to the same college, and then we can see each other all the time. You'll see, we're made for each other. She's perfect." Dustin then proceeded to keep describing how great she was until Steve finally cut in to end his rambling.

"Alright Dustin, I get it. She's perfect." He shook his head slightly as he pulled up in front of Lucas' house. Once he was in he sped along to Max's. As soon as the red haired girl was in he headed off to pick up the last little shit. As he drove he could feel the palpable tension in the air. Glancing in the rear view mirror he saw the tired look on Max's face and the concern on Lucas'. "Hey Max, you doing okay?"

He watched as the girl shuffled in her seat, obviously uncomfortable being called out but Steve knew it would be easier if she told them what was going on so they could help. "I had a nightmare about...about Billy." Steve frowned at the girls hesitant words. It had been a few weeks since she'd had a nightmare about Billy, he'd been hopeful that they were finally through the worst of it but clearly they weren't out of the woods yet.

"That's the first one in a while. Can you think of any reason why you'd have one? Maybe something reminded you of him?" He glanced back briefly but kept his eyes on the road for the most part. Max sniffed from the back and rubbed her eyes. 

"I don't think so. Plus this was different. It wasn't like the others, it wasn't him...you know. Billy was there, and he was trying to talk to me but I couldn't hear him. It was weird." When she had finished speaking, Steve knew she didn't want to talk about it any more. He concentrated on driving but chewed the inside of his cheek in thought. It troubled him because he knew what Max's dreams had been like before, it was usually Billy dying or him in the sauna room. So for the dream to be so different was weird but he could on presume something might have triggered the dream without her realising. He had experience in that, sometimes something as simple as passing a florist could cause horrifying dreams about the demogorgon that night, or seeing a grey dog on the street made his breath catch thinking it was a demodog.

Dreams were a difficult thing to decipher or prevent, they always seemed to catch up to you with something when you least expect it. Not that Steve had had any respite in a long time, his nightmares were constant and unyielding, the bags under his eyes were so normal he didn't think anyone noticed anymore.

With that awkward conversation over there was silence until the Wheeler house but once Mike was in the car he filled it with chatter about school, homework and the usual talk about his latest talk with Will or Eleven over the phone the night before.

Not long before 8am he dropped off all the kids at school before pulling out of the parking lot. Forgetting the earlier incident he turned the radio back on.

Everything seemed normal as he headed towards work. Then the static started again, this time he didn't turn it off straight away, he waited, hoping it would stop soon but instead it hissed on insistently before a voice broke through. It started muffled, sounding far away and then it started to clear up. Leaning forward, Steve strained to hear the voice. Suddenly, clear as day a familiar voice came across on the radio. "HARRINGTON!"


End file.
